​As the Dallas Mavericks moved in recent months toward a new jersey patch deal, the approach wasn’t to cast a wide net or engage in conversations with a large number of potential corporate partners. Instead, executives pursued a serious dialogue with a single suitor: JPMorgan Chase. A long-standing relationship combined with a selective brand that has its sights set on the Dallas-Fort Worth market helped propel the Mavericks to a jersey patch agreement with Chase, the latest in a rapidly expanding sponsorship category now valued at more than $800 million and still growing.
“There was just no reason to talk to anybody else as long as we progressed to a deal, which took a while because these are complicated and expensive deals,” Mavericks CEO Rick Welts told The Dallas Morning News. “But we all knew where we wanted to end up. We were fortunate enough to get there.” The Chase logo, in its blue and white octagonal form, will appear on the upper left front strap of the Mavericks’ jerseys, replacing the former green emblem of the previous sponsor, Chime.
Since the 2017-18 season, NBA teams have been permitted to partner with companies for the rights to display a 2.5-inch-by-2.5-inch patch on jerseys, and these deals have become a substantial revenue stream for the league’s franchises. Financial terms of the Mavericks-Chase agreement were not disclosed. However, the average NBA jersey patch deal was valued at just over $8.5 million for teams in the 2024-25 season, according to data from SponsorUnited cited by The News. The most lucrative recent example is the Golden State Warriors’ deal with AI cloud provider Iren, set to place the company’s logo on the Warriors’ jerseys next season for more than $50 million per year, the richest sponsorship arrangement in the history of North American sports.
The average MLB jersey patch deal also hovers around $8.5 million, with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ arrangement with Guggenheim standing as a leading example. Across six major North American professional sports, the jersey patch market is valued at about $828 million, with projections to reach $1 billion by 2030. It is increasingly an essential sponsorship asset, accounting for roughly 31% of annual brand investments and approaching, though still trailing slightly behind, venue naming rights, which stand at about 34%. Financial brands represent about 25% of the jersey patch market.
The growing importance of these deals stems from the breadth of visibility they provide across multiple platforms. While the immediate benefit is the logo’s presence on game broadcasts when cameras zoom in on players like Cooper Flagg, the impact extends much further. A large portion of fans, especially younger viewers, consume NBA content via YouTube highlight compilations or short-form clips on TikTok and Instagram. Brands invest heavily to secure that level of reach and engagement.
“Indeed, it is the single most visible association we have with any company,” Welts said, underscoring how the deal extends beyond traditional advertising to influence search engine optimization and online visibility for the brand associated with the patch.